


Midnight Train to Georgia

by swimmingwolf59



Series: After the Fire [2]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Dealing With Guilt, F/F, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meet the Family, Some Humor, Some angst, undiscovered country spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29350368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmingwolf59/pseuds/swimmingwolf59
Summary: After Sybok, after Khitomer, they found themselves at a log cabin with a giant peach tree out front.(Can stand alone)
Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock
Series: After the Fire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063160
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29





	Midnight Train to Georgia

After Sybok, after Khitomer, they found themselves at a log cabin with a giant peach tree out front.

Spock had never been to Georgia. He had spent the majority of his time on Earth in San Francisco at Starfleet Academy or in New Jersey with his mother’s family. He had toured around some during his time as a cadet, but the closest he had come to Georgia was New Orleans, a tourist attraction that wasn’t all that exciting as a vegetarian.

But Leonard’s family was here, and he wanted to spend time with them before he and Spock officially retired from Starfleet and found their own place to settle down.

And, perhaps most importantly, he wanted to introduce them to Spock.

Leonard had been nervous about this for the entire shuttle ride. Spock still wasn’t entirely sure why, as when he had asked Leonard had simply waved his hand around and gave some vague answer about his daughter being rather stubborn and judgmental. Spock had smartly not told him that these were characteristics she most definitely got from him, and instead started an argument to give him something else to think about.

Now that they were here, however, Leonard seemed to relax in a way Spock had never seen before. It was only really then that he fully realized how taxing the last 27.6 years must have been for him.

Leonard walked up the wooden steps to the porch and knocked on the door, the house so old it didn’t have a door chime. The door swung open, revealing the form of an eight-year-old Trill boy, grinning from ear to ear.

“Granddad!!” Zadrin ran up to Leonard, who bent down and scooped him up into his arms.

“There’s my favorite grandson!” Leonard said, also grinning as he planted a huge kiss on the boy’s cheek. “How have you been, Zade?”

“Good! I’ve been passing all my classes, so my moms are letting me have more free time to draw and see my friends and stuff!”

“That’s great news!” Leonard was still smiling as he turned so that Zadrin could see Spock properly. “Zadrin, this is my partner, Spock.”

Zadrin looked at Spock, eyes wide. “Are you an elf?”

Leonard turned his face away, obviously biting back laughter. Spock on his part just blinked. “I am a Vulcan.”

“Oh. Are Vulcans related to elves?”

Spock considered this for a moment. “I do not believe the genetic ancestry of elves has been researched. If you are up to the task, perhaps you can tell me the answer.”

Zadrin grinned again. “I will!”

“Daddy, is that you?” A woman came out of the still ajar door, and she looked so startingly like Leonard that Spock was momentarily taken aback. She had his eyes and hair and the same curve to her mouth when she smiled.

“Jo!” Leonard’s grin somehow got even wider as he leaned over to hug her, Zadrin squealing with laughter as he got squashed between them.

Spock was suddenly unsure if he was supposed to be doing something. Even after years of living with humans, he was still learning about their traditions and customs, and meeting one’s partner’s family was something he had never been exposed to.

Before he could decide on a course of action, however, Joanna pulled out of her hug with her father and turned to smile at him.

“Spock, it’s so great to finally meet you!” she said joyfully, holding her hand up in an attempt at the _ta’al_. Her fingers couldn’t hold the shape, however, and she frowned as she tried to force her fingers back into place. “Dammit, I practiced this and everything!”

“It is quite alright,” Spock said, slightly amused as he held up his own _ta’al._ “Leonard is also incapable of holding the form properly.”

“Or at all,” Leonard said, rolling his eyes. “He claims that posture is ‘logical’, but I don’t see how anything that hurts so damn much could be logical.”

“I must remind you that you also claim your human ‘handshake’ is logical. However, it is incredibly easy to transmit diseases through handshakes, and they are inconsiderate towards other species, such as Vulcans, that abhor others’ touch. The _ta’al_ does neither.”

Leonard turned to him. “You sure love to claim that everything humans do is xenophobic, but isn’t it xenophobic to have a greeting that most other species can’t even _do_ —”

Joanna laughed heartily. “I see what Uncle Jim meant about your bickering. Would you care to come in, or have a lengthy argument out here for a bit while the rest of us have lunch?”

“Well, I sure wouldn’t want to miss lunch,” Leonard said amusedly, setting Zadrin down as they all walked into the house.

“It has happened before,” Spock agreed.

Leonard spluttered out a laugh. “Oh yeah, at Jim’s promotion party!”

“When he got promoted to admiral?” Joanna asked, shutting the door behind them.

“Yeah, Spock and I got caught up in some ridiculous argument—I don’t even remember what _about_ now—and we ended up missing the dinner, the party, _and_ the speeches we were both supposed to give.”

“Jim was not very pleased,” Spock recalled, holding back a small smile. “Though I do not believe he was surprised.”

“That’s horrible,” Joanna said, laughing.

“It’s fine, we made it up to him later with a private party,” Leonard said with a smirk, leading the way towards the kitchen.

Spock admired the décor as they moved through the house. It was all very old-fashioned, but well kept, and much more personable than any home Spock had ever been in. There were photos everywhere, mostly of Joanna and her family but also some of Leonard and his parents, knickknacks everywhere that all seemed to hold some kind of value. Vulcans were minimalists, and Leonard hadn’t taken much with him when he had joined Starfleet, so it was surprising for Spock to see the memories that seemed to hang off of every centimeter of the house.

He stopped in front of one photo, Leonard stalling next to him as Joanna and Zadrin squeezed past them and onto the kitchen. It was Joanna’s wedding photo, she and her wife smiling widely as two women, presumably their mothers, stood next to them, also smiling. Leonard was noticeably absent from the photo.

“Jo got married the same year I was diagnosed with xenopolycythemia,” Leonard said, voice low. “I was going to attend when I left Starfleet, but once I was cured Starfleet no longer saw any need to approve my leave, so I missed it.”

Spock wasn’t sure what to say to that, and Leonard huffed out a small laugh. “Obviously I’m glad I was cured, but I missed so much of Jo’s life. I really regret that.”

Spock placed his arm around him, knowing that any words he did decide on would be inadequate. Leonard leaned into him, and for a moment they just stood there, staring at the photo. Leonard gestured up at it after a while. “That’s my ex-wife. We were happy together, at first. But so much shit happened that year, what with my dad and all, that she just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I don’t blame her – I was a wreck back then. I don’t think anyone would’ve stayed with me.”

“I would’ve,” Spock said, and Leonard glanced up at him in surprise. “You were hurting, and overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and stress from your residency. It would be illogical to leave you when you would’ve needed me most.”

“Maybe.” Leonard sniffed. “But I’m not mad at her. She was there for Jo when I couldn’t be, and I’ll always be thankful for that. I just have to be here now, so I don’t miss anything else.”

“You have done all that you could to be there for her despite your position in Starfleet,” Spock murmured quietly. “There is no shame in that.” 

Leonard sniffed again, a bit more obviously, and so they stood there for a while longer before moving into the kitchen. Joanna was propped next to her wife at the stove, chatting with her while Zadrin drew something at the kitchen table. They all looked up as Spock and Leonard finally entered the room.

“Spock!” The woman standing at the stove wiped her hands on her apron before sending him a perfect _ta’al_. “Xolani McCoy. A pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Way to rub it in, Xo,” Joanna grumbled, nudging her wife as Spock returned the _ta’al_.

“Do you require any assistance cooking?” Spock asked, though a quick glance at the stove proved that he had absolutely no idea what she was making.

“No, please! It’s human tradition for the hosts to provide for the guests.”

Spock dipped his head and instead took a seat at the table next to Leonard. Leonard was sitting next to Zadrin, who sat at the head of the table completely bent over his art. “What are you drawing, Zade?”

“Spock,” Zadrin said, and Spock twitched minutely in surprise. “We’re supposed to draw our families for school and I wanted to practice so I could add him into the picture I drew.”

Leonard also looked surprised for a moment before he grinned and hugged his grandson. Spock felt honored that Zadrin wanted to add him into his family portrait, even though he was only a recent addition. “Do you require me to pose for you?”

Zadrin thought about this for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, can you do that—that hand thing?”

“It is called a _ta’al_ ,” Spock said, and demonstrated it for him.

Zadrin looked between him and his paper for a while, tongue sticking out slightly as he concentrated. When he was done, he grinned and held the paper up proudly. “Ta-da!”

“Oh, this is just darling,” Leonard said, smirking as he took the paper. “Zade, can I keep this when you’re done with it?”

“Sure! I just gotta draw him on my main picture and then you can have it!” Zadrin turned to Spock as Leonard handed him the drawing. “What do you think, Spock? Er, is there a Vulcan word for ‘granddad’?”

“ _Sa’mekh-al,_ but I do not mind if you just call me ‘Spock’.” Spock looked at the picture. It was honestly a lot better than he had expected it to be – he had expected a humanoid-esque squiggle with pointy ears and a _ta’al,_ but Zadrin had actually included a great amount of detail in his face, and had done a fairly good job of drawing the robe he was wearing. It actually managed to resemble him, and Spock was impressed. “This is very good.”

“Captures his likeness perfectly,” Leonard said, only half-teasing, and Zadrin beamed.

“Can I see?” Joanna asked. Spock handed her the picture and she smiled. “Amazing. And you only met him a few minutes ago!”

“ _Sa’mekh-al_ has a distinct face,” Zadrin said, and the humans around him all nodded in agreement.

Spock raised an eyebrow, and as soon as Zadrin got his paper back he added that in.

Leonard laughed. “Ah, _now_ it’s perfect!”

“Mama, is it okay if I finish my family picture after lunch?” Zadrin asked as Xolani put a huge pot down in the middle of the table.

“Sure, Zade. Just make sure you make some time for your grandfathers later,” she said, dishing out whatever it was into bowls.

“I will!”

“What is this dish?” Spock asked curiously as Xolani passed a bowl to him. 

“Matoke over rice – it’s a dish that’s popular in Kenya, where my parents are from,” Xolani said. “The sauce is primarily made from plantains, but it’s also got tomatoes, onions, garlic, that kind of thing.”

“You’re in for a real treat,” Joanna whispered to Spock as she sat down beside him. “This is my favorite of her dishes.”

“I am unfamiliar with most Earth food that does not originate from my mother’s hometown or Leonard’s,” Spock said, picking up a fork. “I am intrigued.”

Everyone sat down to eat, and Spock tried the matoke. It was very good – flavorful, and it reminded Spock of a similar Vulcan dish, though the sauce of the matoke was much thicker.

“I heard you helped start the negotiations for peace with the Klingons, Spock,” Xolani said after a minute. “That’s pretty amazing.”

“It was necessary. Continued conflict is illogical, and must be ended,” Spock said, but it was a bit of a sore subject. It was still hard to suppress the guilt he felt – while Khitomer was necessary to ensure peace and stability in the Alpha Quadrant, he regretted that it had led to his best friend and his partner being imprisoned for a crime they didn’t commit.

“He’s just being modest,” Leonard said, rolling his eyes. Spock was reminded uncomfortably of the cold frost of his skin, the stark ribs he had felt across his torso, and the rage and sorrow he’d felt at seeing his partner so malnourished.

“What do you two do?” Spock asked, diverting the subject.

“I’m a deep-sea diver,” Xolani said, leaning forward slightly. “Did you know that we still know more about space than we do about the deep oceans on Earth? It’s a fascinating place, I’ll tell you that, and I love learning more about it.”

“That is fascinating,” Spock said seriously. “I would be interested in reading your papers on the subject.”

Xolani grinned. “Sure, can do.”

“And I’m an epidemiologist, focused on diseases that tend to crop up in rural areas,” Joanna said. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid, like Daddy, but as I got older I realized how annoying _that_ would be, so I moved to a related field.”

“I was relieved, because I knew she’d overshadow me instantly,” Leonard said, smirking. 

“It would not take much effort to overshadow your beads and rattles, Leonard,” Spock said. Leonard made a face at him.

Xolani snorted. “Isn’t this the guy who literally helped you come back from the dead?”

“Leonard is a very skilled surgeon and a credit to his field,” Spock said, and frowned as Joanna and Xolani shared an amused look. “You appear in disbelief. Perhaps you’ve never read his papers—”

“We’ve read his papers, of course we have,” Joanna interrupted, grinning. “We’re amused because you literally just insulted my dad and implied he was nothing better than a crock, and then in the next breath turned around and said he was the best surgeon in his field. It’s entertaining, is all.”

“They’re not used to how we banter,” Leonard murmured to Spock, also grinning, and Spock nodded in understanding.

“I’m sure we’ll be used to it in no time,” Xolani said, rolling her eyes.

They finished lunch and cleaned up, putting their dirty dishes in the sink. Joanna turned to Leonard. “We’re going to paint Xo’s office, wanna help?”

“Ah, I’m too old and fragile for that!” Leonard joked. “I think I’ll show Spock around the premises instead.”

“Pulling the old card when you’re in your 60s isn’t very cool, Doc,” Xolani said, jokingly stern, but Leonard just waved her off and dragged Spock outside.

The McCoys lived on 6.2 acres of land that gave off the appearance of being much larger than it really was. The land had been in the McCoy family for five generations, six if one counted the first McCoy to step foot here, who had been a worker. It had been a peach farm ‘back in the day’, as Leonard told him, but had fallen to the wayside after Leonard’s grandfather passed away. Now, it was mainly just grass, kept short by the neighbor’s sheep, and the garden Joanna tended to as a hobby. There was also a dilapidated barn that Xolani apparently used to satiate her hobby of tinkering around inside ancient automobiles.

There was still one surviving peach tree left on the premises, and they paused here after Leonard had shown Spock everything else.

“It’s my pride and joy, besides the kids of course,” Leonard said, glancing up at it. “I planted this when I was about as old as Zadrin is now. My dad thought it wouldn’t make it several times, but it survived all these years. My mom used to make the best cobblers from the peaches.”

He looked sad suddenly. They hadn’t discussed what Sybok had revealed about Leonard’s father, but Spock wondered if maybe they should’ve. He had believed Leonard when he’d said the pain of it had dissipated, had believed it true for himself as well, but they both knew that pain like that didn’t fade so easily. It could lay dormant for a while, but one small thing would bring it all back again.

Spock looked up at the peach tree. It was a magnificent tree, and Leonard had every right to be proud that it had survived. He stared at it and realized that he didn’t want Leonard to look at it and only remember the painful things.

So he grabbed onto the first branch and hoisted himself up.

“Spock?” Leonard barked, sounding startled.

Spock didn’t answer, focused on climbing. He’d never climbed a tree before. Vulcan didn’t have trees like this, and for the most part didn’t have trees at all except for foreign ones brought into the city and the scraggly ones that sat upon the mountainous cliffs.

But it was no harder than the mountains he had climbed as a child, and he quickly settled in the crown of the tree. He peered down through the leaves at Leonard, who was gawking at him. “Coming, Leonard?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Leonard muttered, but carefully started climbing after him.

He was winded when he finally reached Spock’s position, and he sat heavily next to him as he caught his breath. “You’re absolutely crazy, you know that?”

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.”

“You bet your pointed ears I have,” Leonard said, smirking. He sighed as he looked out around them, the grounds sprawled in front of them and peaches dangling around their heads. “It’s nice up here.”

“Indeed.”

“I never thought to climb up here, somehow. Guess it wasn’t big enough to when I was a kid.”

“It is my first time climbing a tree as well.”

Leonard peered at him. “…Why _did_ you, then? Hardly seems logical.”

Spock didn’t answer for a moment, instead taking Leonard’s hand and rubbing his thumb along the back of it. These hands had saved so many lives, including his own many times, and he still firmly believed that they had never done any harm. “I did not wish for you to look at this tree and only see things that saddened you. Perhaps next time you look at it, you’ll remember the view.”

Leonard blinked, obviously taken aback, and then smiled as he leaned into Spock. Spock wrapped his arm around him, and for a moment they just sat there, enjoying the scenery and each other.

Sometimes it was still surreal to Spock that he had this. As a child, and for a significant part of his early adult life, he had not believed it possible to understand his emotions enough to be in a relationship like this. And even when he had fallen for Leonard, he had certainly never expected his feelings to be reciprocated, or that he would find so much joy in simply being with another person.

He couldn’t stand the thought of losing him. He couldn’t stand that he had already come so close to losing him, at no one’s fault but his own.

He was broken out of his reverie as a peach suddenly appeared in front of his nose.

“Here,” Leonard said, “try one.”

Spock took the peach hesitantly. Leonard loved peaches, and he ate them constantly. Because of this, Spock was well aware of how messy they were, how easily the juice spilled over one’s fingers when bitten into. It was somewhat erotic watching it happen to Leonard, but it was less appealing to think of it happening to his own sensitive fingers.

“Come on, they’re a _thousand_ times better than that replicated shit,” Leonard urged, nudging him.

Spock hesitated for a second longer and then took a small bite. The juice spilled out of the fruit, dripping all over his fingers in a rather disgusting way, and the taste wasn’t much better. It was overly sweet and left a strange aftertaste in his mouth.

“Oh don’t tell me – you don’t like it,” Leonard bemoaned. “How will I survive the heartbreak?”

“It is…” Spock tried to find one nice thing to say about it. “It is a pleasing shade of red and yellow.”

Leonard snorted. “Well, at least there’s that.”

“I am sorry to disappoint you, Leonard,” Spock said, very gravely.

“Eh, more for me,” he said, chuckling as he plucked the peach right out of Spock’s hands.

He dug into the peach, clear delight on his face as he closed his eyes to savor the fruit. He was a sensualist, so Spock knew he would be too focused on the peach to notice him discretely wiping his hand on Leonard’s jacket.

They stayed up in the tree until the sun began to set and the delicious smell of Xolani’s cooking wafted its way to them. Spock made his way down first, as he was a faster climber than Leonard, and then stood on the ground and watched Leonard’s descent.

He saw his foot slip before he heard Leonard’s grumbled cursing. “Oh, shit—”

It was strangely reminiscent of Jim falling off the mountain in Yosemite, except it was much simpler to catch Leonard. He stood at the base of the tree, arms outstretched, as Leonard fell heavily into him.

“Ow, _goddamn_. Thanks,” Leonard grumbled. “Glad no one was around to see _that_.”

Spock raised an eyebrow, and then threw Leonard over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he turned and headed back towards the house.

“What the—” There was some flailing and light pounding on his back. “You little green-blooded pain in the ass, put me _down_!!”

“You might fall again,” Spock said simply, and tuned out the rest of Leonard’s yelling.

They entered the house like that, Leonard bent over Spock’s shoulder and swearing up a storm and Spock with leaves in his hair and a calm expression. Joanna, Xolani, and Zadrin, sitting in the kitchen, all looked up at them.

Joanna was trying hard not to laugh – Spock recognized the expression as Leonard’s. “What’s all this, now?”

“I almost fell out of the peach tree and Spock insisted on humiliating me even further,” Leonard grumbled as Spock finally put him down. 

“You are old and fragile, Leonard – I had to make sure you did not sustain damage,” Spock said, almost smiling when Leonard growled at him.

Xolani burst out laughing. “I like you, Spock! I’ve never met a Vulcan before, but I was under the impression that they didn’t have a sense of humor.”

“Spock’s the exception,” Leonard huffed, adjusting his shirt.

“Do elves have a sense of humor?” Zadrin asked.

“You are the elf researcher, not I,” Spock said.

Zadrin thought about it for a moment. “They must, right? Otherwise they wouldn’t hide gold in pots on the other side of rainbows.”

“Those are leprechauns, darling,” Joanna said, and Spock frowned.

“What is a leprechaun?” he asked.

“That can be your research project, _Sa’mekh-al_!” Zadrin burst out, sporting a toothy grin.

“Very well, I will look into it.”

“Wait ‘til I tell Starfleet what their best and brightest is up to nowadays,” Leonard said, smirking.

They sat down for dinner, and Spock observed Leonard talking animatedly and laughing with his family. He seemed happy here – happier than he had ever been out in space. He smiled more freely and his shoulders didn’t slump like the fate of the universe rested on his back. Being here was doing him good, and Spock couldn’t help but wonder if it was really his place to ask him to leave it again. 

They spent the evening playing an Earth game called Monopoly—a game Spock easily won, as it was essentially a game of strategy—and then retired for bed. Spock and Leonard were given Leonard’s childhood room, and Spock observed the various knickknacks and band posters on the walls as Leonard undressed for bed.

“I’m a real fan of jazz and country music,” he said as an explanation for the posters. “I used to blow every credit I had on concert tickets when my favorites came to town.”

“I am aware of your passion for such music,” Spock said as he turned away and undressed himself. “You have forced me to listen to it before.”

Leonard grinned lazily. “You make it sound like torture.”

“It was.” Spock crawled into bed and, habitually, into Leonard’s arms. “The jazz was interesting, but the country was…”

“Blatantly emotional?” Leonard supplied and huffed out a laugh when Spock nodded. “Could’ve guessed you would hate that.”

“And yet you made me listen to it 23 times.”

Leonard smirked and kissed Spock. “Have to grate on your nerves somehow. Besides, you get back at me by making me listen to that awful flute shit.”

Spock kissed him back, trailing his fingers against Leonard’s. “It is not a flute, it is a Vulcan—”

“Yeah, yeah, the _tonpek_ , I remember.” Leonard tapped his own temple. “Sometimes I find your knowledge of Vulcan language and culture still nestled up here.”

Spock nodded knowingly. “Yes, just as I have uncomfortably vivid memories of your various attempts at square dancing.”

Leonard laughed loudly, head falling back against the pillow from the force of it. He kissed Spock again rather than continuing the teasing, fingers sliding back into Spock’s hair. Spock placed his fingers lightly on Leonard’s psi points and fell comfortably into his mind.

Neither of them were very eager to have sex knowing that Joanna was in the next room, so they didn’t do much more than kiss and unwind before going to bed properly, Leonard falling asleep quickly against his side. Spock tried to sleep as well, but found it elusive. Insomnia had plagued him all his life, and while sleeping with Leonard tended to help, sometimes turning his brain off was impossible beyond reaching a light meditative state.

His insomnia was especially persistent tonight, so he decided to spend the time researching on his PADD instead.

“What are you reading about?” Leonard asked sometime later, voice thick with sleep as he rolled onto his side to face Spock.

“Leprechauns,” Spock said, scrolling through an article. “The legend of them is quite fascinating, actually. I think I will have a lot to present to Zadrin tomorrow on the subject.”

Leonard didn’t answer, but when Spock glanced over at him he was grinning from ear to ear. Spock raised an eyebrow. “Is something amusing?”

“No.” Leonard reached out and stroked his thumb along Spock’s ear. “I just love you, is all.”

Spock froze marginally. It still managed to surprise him, after all this time. While Leonard was not prone to verbal displays of affection, it had not been uncommon for him to say it these last seven years. And yet somehow, Spock never expected it, and always failed to prepare himself for the affection and happiness that flooded through his body when he heard it.

He reached out to caress Leonard’s cheek. “And I cherish you, Leonard.”

He looked at Leonard, sleepy smile on his face and love pulsing gently against Spock’s fingers, and the guilt, familiar by now, tightened in his chest. Because of his actions regarding the Klingon peace negotiations, Leonard had been imprisoned, forced to do manual labor that was hard on his aging human body, and could’ve been killed. Spock had almost lost both him and Jim forever, something that was still hard to stomach two weeks later.

Leonard would only be in more danger if he continued to follow Spock’s career path. He would be safer here, with his family who made him happy and would never accidentally place him in danger.

“Leonard, I was thinking that you should stay here for your retirement.” It hurt Spock, to consider parting from him, but it was the only way he could think of to keep him safe. 

Leonard snorted lightly. “Yeah, you living in _Georgia_ , now that’s something I can picture. You’d hate it here.”

“No, Leonard, I mean only you.”

“… _What_?!” Leonard pushed himself up on his elbow, wide awake now. Hurt flashed across his face and more guilt sliced through Spock. “Are you seriously breaking up with me? After _everything_ we’ve been through?”

“Not breaking up, merely…separated.” Spock looked away. “My actions led to your imprisonment, and could’ve led to your death. You are important to me, and I do not wish for my actions to ever put you in danger again. Therefore, it is logical for us to not be physically together.”

“ _Logical_?! That is the most pig-headed thing I’ve ever heard!” Leonard snarled. “As much as you may think otherwise, I’m not some old, fragile thing. I can handle myself, and I am certainly _not_ letting you run off on some crazy mission without me there to look after you!”

“But your experience on Rura Penthe—”

“Yes, it was _bad_ , but it wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. We’ve been through far worse than that before, even – some little manual labor isn’t going to scare me away.” Leonard laid back down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, and huffed. “Besides, it wasn’t the mines that were bad, it was sleeping next to _Jim_ that was.”

Spock let out an amused breath despite everything, despite the horrors he knew they had faced. “As bad as witnessing Jim’s… _indulgence_ may have been, when you came back from Rura Penthe, you were frost-bitten nearly as badly as on Sarpeidon, and when I touched you, I could feel the outline of every single one of your ribs.”

“It was prison, Spock, not exactly a buffet.”

“Exactly my point. If you follow me, worse things may happen to you. I cannot guarantee I won’t put your life in danger again.”

“Spock, that _wasn’t_ your fault – you can’t blame yourself for the actions of some crazy terrorists,” Leonard said fiercely. “You’ve never put me in danger, _never._ You’ve saved my life, if anything!”

“The fact remains that you would be safer here.” Spock touched his face gently. “Please understand that I don’t wish to leave you.”

Leonard grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Then don’t.”

Spock didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to alleviate the guilt he still felt. Leonard searched his face, but upon realizing he wasn’t going to say anything more, slowly curled up against his chest.

Neither of them slept well that night.

\--

Joanna found Spock sitting on the front porch before the sun was up, meditating.

“You could not sleep?” he asked her as she sat down beside him.

“Kinda, but sometimes I just like to get up early and watch the sunrise.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her arms on them. Her hair fell down around her shoulders, not yet pulled back into its usual ponytail. “Dad and I used to do that together when I was really little. We’d wake up _super_ early and he’d drive me to the beach and together we’d watch the sun come up. It’s one of my favorite memories of back then.”

“…Your father cares for you very much,” Spock said. “Some days you are all he talks about.”

Her lips quirked up into a small smile. “I know he does. I was never mad at him for being gone. I missed him like hell, but that house… My mom and dad were not good for each other, especially back then when everything was going on. It was better that they weren’t together. And Dad called me _all_ the time, so I never felt neglected by him. I feel lucky that even after such a bad break-up I always had both of my parents.”

“What does your mother do?” Spock asked.

“She’s an archaeologist. I think that’s how she and Dad met, because they were both really interested in bones, for different reasons of course.” She chuckled a little. “God, after Dad left, I’d have to stay with this really awful babysitter when Mom went out on her digs. I missed Dad the most then.”

“He missed you a lot as well.”

“He’s always had so much compassion and capacity to care about others.” She shook her head. “Kicks him in the ass all the time, but I love that he still has it after everything he’s been through.”

She turned to him. “I don’t really know much about Vulcan culture, but you guys have a thing about not expressing emotion, right? Seems a bit odd you’d find my dad a valuable partner.”

“…I admire your father’s ability to be honest with his emotions, and his stubbornness to stick by them against all logic.” Joanna laughed at that. “When we first met, we argued often. His attitude was unfathomable to me. As I got to know him better, however, I saw how compassionate, hard-working, and intelligent he was. He has always challenged me to reconsider my opinions and perspective. He holds his own in a debate against me, and I have always found that stimulating. It was…difficult not to eventually find comfort in speaking with him.”

“But you didn’t tell him that for a long time, huh?”

“I was…very out of touch with my own emotions. It took dying and reexamining the values I’d held all my life to understand how much he means to me.”

“…You’re more than meets the eye, aren’t you Spock?” Joanna said, smiling her father’s smile.

Spock raised an eyebrow. “As I am not visibly many of the things I consider myself to be, I should hope that is the case.”

She laughed, and they turned back to watching the sunrise.

“My dad’s been alone, and sad, for a long time,” Joanna said after they’d watched the sun rise over the trees. “He’s bad at letting others take care of him, but he’s so… _comfortable_ around you. Happy. It makes _me_ really happy to see.”

Spock considered this for a moment. Leonard was happy in Georgia with his daughters and his grandson, but it was true that he was happy with Spock, too. Spock saw it every day, from the little smiles that Leonard woke up with when Spock was beside him to the affection that wafted off of him even when they were arguing. And he made Spock happy too, in the small part of himself that had learned how to accept such feelings. He would be miserable without him, even if he knew it would be worth it for his safety.

But Leonard was also right – he wasn’t as fragile as he always pretended to be. He had survived many tragedies that hadn’t broken him in the end, and he deserved to have happiness now.

Sitting there with Joanna, Spock wasn’t entirely sure what he had been thinking. Perhaps it had been the guilt, eating away at him without him even realizing. But he had long since decided he would not let his life be fully dictated by his emotions, and especially not now when he had finally found some form of the contentment he’d always searched for with a grumpy and passionate man from Georgia.

He stood suddenly. “Excuse me Joanna, but I must speak with your father.”

She smiled up at him. “I thought you might. I can always tell when Dad’s in a mood.”

It did tend to be obvious. Spock nodded to her and then retreated back into the house.

It took some searching, but he eventually found Leonard out on the front porch, slouching in the porch swing. There were bags under his eyes from not sleeping the night before, and his shoulders were tense like they hadn’t been since they’d arrived in Georgia.

“Still thinkin’ about leaving without me?” he asked, staring down at the floor.

“No.” Spock sat next to him, sinking into his warmth. “Your argument last night was quite compelling, and speaking with Joanna just now also convinced me that it was a ‘pig-headed’ idea.”

Leonard smiled a little and wrapped his arm around Spock’s shoulders, drawing him in closer. He used one of his bare feet to lazily push against the railing and gently swing them, and for a moment they just stared out at the burgeoning day.

“I’ve been thinkin’ about that whole ordeal, since you brought it up,” Leonard said softly into Spock’s hair. “That Chang fellow called me incompetent. It struck a nerve at the time, but he was right – I _was_ incompetent. I didn’t know what to do; I’d never even _seen_ Klingon biology before. Maybe if I had, I could’ve saved Gorkon.”

“That was hardly your fault, Leonard,” Spock said. “Klingons have never shared their physiological information with us, and you had never personally treated one before.”

“Even so.” Leonard swung them a few more times and then blurted out, “I was just thinkin’, if you take up that ambassador position, you might need a surgeon in case another diplomatic meeting goes south. And that way I can learn about the anatomies of all sorts of species we’ll meet.”

Spock pushed up slightly to look at him, shocked by this statement. “You would consider coming out of retirement for this?”

“I’d still be mostly retired – you’re not going to be on a diplomatic mission every damn minute of every damn day.” Leonard rubbed his thumb along Spock’s ear gently. “If I retire now, the last thing I’ll have ever done as a surgeon would be to fail to save a man’s life. I don’t want to live the rest of my life knowing I was incompetent.”

Spock was silent for a moment. Then, quietly, “It would make me feel better if you did not come with me.”

“I know it would. And it’d make me feel better if you never stepped on a starship ever again.” Leonard’s fingers wound back through Spock’s hair. “You’re worried about losin’ me, but I _did_ lose you. I watched you die, and every time you go out there, I’m terrified of it happening again. I can’t lose you again.”

Leonard’s voice broke, and Spock closed his eyes, feeling the pain and sorrow that wafted off of his partner’s skin. “But I’m not gonna stop you from doing what you want to do because of my fears, and I’m damn sure going to go with you because I’d much rather be there with you at the end and know that we had spent as much of our lives together as we could than being somewhere far away, miserable and never knowing what had happened to you.”

Leonard actually chuckled a little. “Besides, someone’s gotta be there to patch you up when you inevitably get yourself injured somehow.”

“…You are surprisingly logical today, Leonard,” Spock said, and deserved the swat Leonard aimed at his shoulder. “I was considering leaving you behind because I was succumbing to my fear and my guilt over what happened to you. However, if I must live with some emotions, I would rather them be happy ones, spent with you, than sad ones, spent alone.”

Leonard smiled, and Spock was relieved to finally see the tightness around his eyes go away. Spock leaned in to gently rub the back of his fingers against Leonard’s jaw. “I am honored to be your partner, Leonard, and I would like to stay that way, forever and always.”

Leonard’s eyes searched his for a moment, still so startingly blue. “…You askin’ me to marry you, Spock?”

Spock raised an eyebrow. “If I was, would you say yes?”

“…I would.” Leonard grinned, leaning in to kiss him. They indulged for a while, McCoy’s warm happiness bubbling across Spock’s fingers. When they parted, Leonard nuzzled against Spock’s face and murmured, “You’re my home, Spock – more than this place ever was, even if I love to death the people that live here. I want to be wherever you are.”

“You are my home as well, Leonard,” Spock said softly. “I apologize I did not fully realize this before. I want you by my side, to face any dangers together.”

Leonard hummed happily and leaned back against the bench, reaching his hand out for Spock. Spock took it and tangled their fingers, comforted by the familiar feel of Leonard’s skin and emotions. “So. A Vulcan wedding what you have in mind?”

“Yes, if you are amenable.”

“I’m amenable.” Leonard smirked. “I’ve had an Earth wedding and a Fabrini wedding, might as well add in a new one for the third time.”

Spock raised his eyebrow, amused. “You have technically been to a Vulcan wedding before.”

“Yeah, but _I_ wasn’t getting married. And if I was, there wouldn’t have been a challenge.”

Spock tucked his face into Leonard’s neck, nearly overwhelmed by the affection that bubbled in him for Leonard. He was even less sure why he had even _considered_ leaving him, when they had already wasted so much time and fought with everything they had for this chance together.

He would not abandon it now.

“Wait, do we have to wait until your next _pon farr_ to get married?” Leonard asked, voice pitched low enough that only Spock could hear him. “Because who knows if you’ll ever even _have_ another one.”

“No – Vulcan males must marry right before _pon farr_ if they are not already married, but they do not need to be on the verge of _pon farr_ to get married.”

“Good.” Leonard rested his chin on Spock’s head. “Then I’m looking forward to it, darlin’.”

Spock squeezed his hand. “As am I.”

They sat outside on the porch swing, dozing on and off, until it was time to go in for breakfast. Afterwards, Xolani rearranged the furniture in the living room to imitate a lecture hall so that Zadrin and Spock could present their findings. Zadrin’s presentation on elves was imaginative and fascinating, very well done for an 8-year-old, and Spock diligently took notes on his PADD.

“In conclusion, elves are not related to Vulcans,” Zadrin said. “Therefore, their mutually pointed ears must be ‘cause of convergent evolution.”

The room erupted into light applause, Spock politely tapping his foot in place of clapping. Leonard sniffed rather audibly. “I’m so proud I’m gonna cry.”

Zadrin grinned as he hopped back to the couch and just about threw himself into Leonard’s lap. “Your turn, _Sa’mekh-al_!”

“Very well.” Spock stood and presented the brief presentation he had constructed about leprechauns.

Leonard couldn’t seem to stop smiling through the whole thing, which was highly distracting. At the end, he started asking some truly outrageous questions, sparking nearly twenty minutes of debate between them about the nature of rainbows and the subsequent doubt in the ability to hide pots of gold at one end of them.

“I’m going to have to listen to this every Christmas, aren’t I?” Joanna asked, rolling her eyes.

“It’ll be alright – we’ll just break out the board games and leave them to it,” Xolani said, grinning. “They’ll wear themselves out eventually, right?”

“Don’t be so sure,” Leonard said, holding out his two fingers as Spock returned to his seat.

“Indeed.” Spock returned the kiss, moving over slightly as Leonard cuddled into his side. “We once argued for 12.72 hours straight.”

“Jesus,” Joanna said, “the foreplay must go on _forever_.”

Leonard’s mouth dropped open, scandalized. “Joanna!”

Joanna and Xolani burst out laughing, and even Spock could not hold back a small smile.

For the rest of the afternoon, Spock sat on the couch with Leonard in his arms, the family that had so graciously accepted him fanned out around them, and felt fully and completely content.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! I'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kaoru_of_hakone)


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